Dancing Astronaut’s soundtrack to Tomorrowland 2013

It would require fingers and toes to count the amount of times “Animals” was heard, and the same could be said for anthems such as “Cannonball,” “Clarity,” or “Play Hard.” Beneath the most played tracks at Tomorrowland, however, certain drops stood out with significance, truly making an impression on Tomorrowland and its crowd. These tracks influenced the festival on a level only comprehendible for those immersed within its sets, stages and, most importantly, the dreamworld experience in which they created.

Dancing Astronaut was on the ground to catch the moments where select records made an impact and became symbolic of dance music’s greatest weekend; here we proudly present our soundtrack to Tomorrowland 2013.

Cosmic Gate – Fire Wire (Cosmic Gate’s Back 2 The Future Remix)

Tunes of Tomorrowland didn’t have to be the most recently released tracks or the biggest anthems of 2013. In a way, nostalgia worked best in tandem with the mystical atmosphere created — and the artists quickly caught onto that. Trance duo Cosmic Gate found room to visit their beloved mix of “Fire Wire” at the Ferry Corsten-hosted Full On stage, but Tiesto’s Allure side project made the greatest use of it at Sunday’s Trance Addict stage — perhaps the most Carnivalesque arena — in which the record matched the aura.

Joris Voorn – Ringo (Original Mix)

This mysterious, mellow house record enchanted the larger-than-life butterfly stage when John Digweed made way for it while warming up his crowd for Carl Cox. Made popular by the likes of Nic Fanciulli over the course of the past year, “Ringo” worked wonders for tech aficionados at Tomorrowland with its beat-driven charm that parallels fantasy. Joris Voorn took to the waterfront Cocoon Heroes stage on day two, drew full capacity with each drop, and turned the imaginative setting into reality when he dropped his original “Ringo” production.

Tommy Trash – Monkey In Love (Original Mix)

Day two of Tomorrowland saw the massive butterfly edifice host Laidback Luke’s Super You & Me movement. While the first and last days had the same stage occupied by tech house, Luke’s crew gave it the animation it required. Tommy Trash best executed the lifeblood of Super You & Me, transporting fans into a world of colorful beats to match the colorful surroundings. Drifting through original mashups and remixes, his latest offering, “Monkey In Love” shook the venue at the climax of his set. Kaskade even caught on to the track’s imagery and used it for himself the next day.

Alpha Twins – Rebirth (Original Mix)

Where most stages appeared to come out of a dream, the Q-dance stage could be considered the nightmare counterpart. No friendly butterflies or vibrant nature; the hardstyle arena featured a massive structure modeled after a monster of an insect whose legs had been replaced by blades. Scary? No. Just the perfect fit to host one of Europe’s most favored genres. Headlined by Headhunterz on Friday, Coone brought an overwhelming showcase of the movement only 24 hours later. His set was best represented by the devilish vocals and thunderous energy of “Rebirth” by Alpha Twins.

Bingo Players – Cry (Original Mix)

Chuckie had the Main Stage crowd in the palm of his hands on the second day of Tomorrowland. Moving through festival favorites, popular vocals, contagious drops, and often taking to the microphone, he arranged the perfect setting for a respectable shout out. Paying homage to Paul of Bingo Players (who had announced his cancer diagnosis just over a week ago), Chuckie played the duo’s well-known “Cry” in its full form and asked the crowd to give their love and respects for the widely adored DJ who has recently fallen ill.

Green Velvet & Harvard Bass – Lazer Beams (Original Mix)

Carl Cox brought his friends to Tomorrowland’s second largest stage behind the now-famous Main Stage, taking the reigns into the evening and setting the bar high with an incredible tracklist encompassing all beneath and techno and house umbrella. Headed by unrelenting drums and hypnotic builds, Cox’s Tomorrowland journey is one he and his legion will long remember. Witnessing the madness in full from a bird’s eye view, nothing had his crowd erupting like his early selection of Green Velvet & Harvard Bass’s “Lazer Beams.” Eric Prydz even took note of this enhanced groove and threw it into the end of his set on day two.

Major Lazer – Watch Out For This (Bumaye) (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Tomorrowland Remix)

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike are national icons in Belgium, poster boys for Tomorrowland, and producers behind the festival’s anthems each year. Dropping this year’s official anthem, “Chattahoochee,” on the Main Stage while closing out day one, the duo found success in their Wakanda-style hit. When they shut the gates on the festival as the final acts of day three however, they did so by putting on a show. Inviting guests such as Chuckie and Steve Angello on stage, the duo’s final performance blew all celebratory closing out of the water, and it wasn’t “Chattahoochee” that did the trick — it was their custom Tomorrowland remix of Major Lazer’s “Watch Out For This.”

Fatboy Slim – Eat Sleep Rave Repeat (Calvin Harris Remix)

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat. This phrase could be heard uttered throughout the festival all weekend and needed no translation when uttered by speakers of all languages. Fatboy Slim’s “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat” had earned airtime across all stages from artists of all genres, and Calvin Harris’s remix in particular put its popularity over the edge. Taking the day three crowd into it’s final moments at the Main Stage, David Guetta was joined by Afrojack and Nicky Romero. The threesome made for a spectacle of only-at-Tomorrowland proportions and drops rained down from all three of their arsenals, but one was unforgettably embedded — “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat.”

Armin van Buuren – Intense (Original Mix)

The song that introduced Remy van Buuren to the world. Armin arrived to Tomorrowland and made a special announcement that he had came straight from the hospital after his wife gave birth to his new son. With the rain pouring down on the crowd, Armin stood proud, emotional, and watery-eyed as he declared his entire set to be a dedication to his newly born son. Armin as we’ve rarely seen him before led his speech into the orchestral introductory track of “Intense,” a record that set the tone on his new album and set the tone for what had become the most special festival appearance of his career.

When Nicky Romero teamed up with Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano to produce “Underground” for Size Records, it’s unsure whether or not the Dutch trio knew the success that remained ahead of them. What is certain, however, is that they found a perfect balance of festival appeal and classic house fit for clubbing. Drawing influence from the sampled vocal of Hithouse’s “Jack To The Sound Of The Underground,” putting Sunnery and Ryan’s tribal charisma at the forefront, and injecting Nicky’s big room electro, the collaboration translates across all venues and preferences. Its universal fascination matched that of Tomorrowland, making it one of the most fitting (and most played) records in Boom, Belgium this past weekend after being played by Axwell, Fedde Le Grand, Alesso, and Sander van Doorn to name a few.